Nantwen Colliery

Overview

A Dowlais-sunk colliery in the Taff Bargoed Valley near Bedlinog, its two shafts begun in 1878 and not reaching the Brithdir seam until 1883. Manpower and output climbed for four decades, peaking at 540 men and over 158,000 tons of coal in 1918, before the mine closed alongside its Bedlinog neighbours in the 1920s.

History

Nantwen Colliery's two shafts were sunk by the Dowlais Iron Company from 1878, but did not reach the Brithdir seam — at a depth of only 85 yards — until 1883; the pit was sunk specifically to increase bituminous coal supplies to the Dowlais Works. Further south than the deep, hot Bedlinog pits, Nantwen was by contrast a damp mine lit by naked lights, where women and girls worked on the surface until the early years of the twentieth century. Ownership passed from the Dowlais Iron and Steel Company to Guest and Company and finally to Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds Limited; Thomas Bevan managed the colliery by 1913, when the company was a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association. Output climbed steeply: 143,562 tons in 1887, 161,100 tons in 1889, 177,606 tons in 1894, and a peak of 179,169 tons in 1895. Manpower reached 363 men by 1909, producing just under 150,000 tons that year, and both workforce and output peaked during the First World War — 540 men producing 158,360 tons in 1918, with women again recorded working the surface in 1919. One local account places Nantwen's closure in 1924, alongside the neighbouring Bedlinog pits; the Northern Mine Research Society's figures instead show manpower reported jointly with a mine called Danyderi from 1923 (389 men) through to 1931 (324 men), suggesting Nantwen's own working continued in some joint or reduced form for several years after 1924 rather than stopping outright. A separately licensed Nantwen No.8 Colliery, worked from the 1950s and 1960s by F.M. Price under National Coal Board licence, was abandoned in January 1966.

Geology

Worked the Brithdir seam of the South Wales Coalfield.

Workings

Two shafts reaching the Brithdir seam at 85 yards; a damp pit lit by naked lights, unlike the deeper, hotter Bedlinog pits nearby.

Closure

One account places closure in 1924 with the neighbouring Bedlinog pits; NMRS's own manpower figures, reported jointly with a mine called Danyderi, continue to 1931, so some reduced or joint working evidently outlasted 1924.

What remains

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Coly Colliery — 0.3 km NW
• Nantyffin Colliery — 0.7 km W
• Trelewis Drift Mine — 1.9 km SW
• Bedlinog Colliery — 2.3 km NW
• Darran Colliery — 2.4 km E, Caerphilly

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Sinking began in 1878 and took until 1883 to reach the Brithdir seam at a depth of only 85 yards; the pit was sunk to increase bituminous coal supplies to the Dowlais Works. ^1,2
• Unlike the deep, hot Bedlinog pits, Nantwen was a damp mine lit by naked lights, where women and girls worked on the surface until the early twentieth century. ²
• Output rose from 143,562 tons in 1887 to a peak of 179,169 tons in 1895, with manpower and output peaking together during the First World War at 540 men and 158,360 tons in 1918. ^1,2
• One account places closure in 1924 alongside the Bedlinog pits; NMRS's own manpower series instead reports Nantwen jointly with a mine called Danyderi from 1923 through to 1931, implying some working continued past 1924. (disputed) ^1,2
• A separately licensed Nantwen No.8 Colliery was worked in the 1950s and 1960s by F.M. Price under National Coal Board licence, abandoned in January 1966. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Small Collieries of the Tredegar area — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Bedlinog Collieries — Treharris District

Record created: 14 September 2026 · Last researched: 15 September 2026